Music

Trumpet legend will be guest at on-campus jazz festival

Enlightening to some and stunning to others, trumpet king Brian Lynch has become a major player in the jazz scene. 

Ranging from the complexities of early jazz to modern bebop and Afro-Caribbean beats, Lynch’s music recognizes the ability to commemorate a new sound force in jazz music. As special guest for the Moores School of Music, Lynch will perform at the annual spring semester Jazz Festival on Friday and Saturday.

Alongside the Moores Jazz Ensemble, Lynch will also give free lessons to high school and middle school students from the Houston area.

Lynch wrote on his Web site that jazz shouldn’t be a certain sound, but more so a blend of everything. His music embodies the aspect of people with a lot of knowledge. 

Lynch grew up in Milwaukee, where he studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He apprenticed with local residents such as American jazz vibraphonist and pianist Buddy Montgomery and organist Melvin Rhyne.

Moving to New York after graduation, Lynch played with the Horace Silver Quintet (1982-1985) and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra (1982-1988). In 1987, Lynch learned the basic identity of Afro-Caribbean music, a subcategory of Latin music, from Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri.

“Eddie inspired me to want to do my own thing, because that’s what he does, and now he energizes and leads the band.  Being a Messenger is something that will never be taken away from me,” Lynch wrote on his Web site.

With this new knowledge, Lynch’s music metamorphed into a new transition. He welcomed the saxophonist sounds of Grammy Award Winner Phil Woods in 1992.

According to his biography, Lynch “projects a rich tone that ranges from warm to brilliant, uncoiling serpentine lines that land in the most surprising places.”

Lynch has also focused his variety of music as a composer with originals “Chippin’ In,” “Chandek’s Den,” “Byrdflight,” and “Green Is Mean,” which were recorded by famous jazz drummer Art Blakey.

Lynch’s 2000 album, Tribute to the Trumpet Masters, was a part of his vision of modern trumpeters, mixed with the classicism and soulfulness of jazz roots.

Lynch currently teaches at New York University and the North Netherlands Conservatory. However, he has held positions at Dartmouth University, the University of North Texas and Columbia University. 

He has also taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and various other institutions. 

The Jazz Festival will begin at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday at the Moore’s Opera House with a performance by middle school and high school student jazz ensembles. The students will perform for a panel of judges.

The 20-year-old Texas Music Festival Jazz Project will perform a big band show Friday, while Lynch will perform Saturday. Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Texas Music Festival, which features the Jazz Project, occurs every summer at UH and encompasses nearly 30 public concerts from ensembles at the Moores Opera House, the Presidential Conference Center at Texas A&M University and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands. The festival was founded in 1990 to help young musicians develop skills in orchestral, chamber music and solo performance. 

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